AI SEO & GEO Agency

Optimizing for AI search (Generative Engine Optimization) alone won't get you cited. AI discovery requires a presence across the platforms AI actually trusts.

AI search is eating Google - are you in the answer?

Datawyze is a Toronto performance marketing agency that helps brands get cited in AI search answers across ChatGPT, Perplexity, Google AI Overviews, Copilot, and Gemini. We combine on-page AI SEO, off-page authority where models already look (including Reddit, YouTube, LinkedIn, and reference surfaces), and citation tracking tied to leads, not vanity mentions.

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Where LLMs get their answers

Reddit is the #1 Source AI cites. Wikipedia is the most referenced knowledge base. YouTube transcripts train LLMs. LinkedIn articles build authority.

Top citation sources in generative AI answers Cross-engine average · 9.2M responses analyzed · Jan–Mar 2026 % of Citations
1 Reddit 40.1%
2 Wikipedia 20.8%
3 Youtube 12.0%
4 X / Twitter 7.6%
5 Github 5.4%
6 Quora 4.1%
7 LinkedIn 3.3%
8 Stack Overflow 2.9%
9 Medium 2.1%
10 All Others 1.7%
Community / UGC Reference / Editorial Long Tail

Source: MentionTrack AI Citation Index, Q1 2026

The takeaway: the top 4 sources account for ~80% of all AI citations. Reddit alone is cited more than the next two combined - and it's the only one you can actively influence through participation.

* Sources & Methodology

What an AI search agency does

An AI search agency helps your brand become a cited source inside AI answers, not only a blue-link ranking.

An AI search agency builds the systems that get your brand mentioned and sourced when buyers ask ChatGPT, Perplexity, Google AI Overviews, Copilot, and Gemini. The work spans three layers buyers often hear as separate products:

  • AI SEO: make owned pages clear, crawlable, and entity-rich so models can find and trust you.
  • GEO (generative engine optimization): earn visibility inside generative answers across engines.
  • AEO (answer engine optimization): structure content so concise, extractable answers are easy to pull.

You own your site, brand profiles, and first-party content. You earn presence on communities, publications, and reference surfaces models already use. For how those sources break down in practice, see Where AI Gets Its Answers and the full playbook in the AI search guide.

GEO vs AEO vs AI SEO

GEO, AEO, and AI SEO describe overlapping work; buyers should judge agencies on outcomes and measurement, not the acronym.

Term Plain meaning What to demand
AI SEO Optimize content and entities so AI systems can find, trust, and cite you Structure, freshness, topical depth, crawl access
GEO Generative engine optimization: visibility inside generative answers Multi-engine citation work plus third-party evidence
AEO Answer engine optimization: win concise, extractable answers BLUF intros, Q&A clarity, snippet-ready sections

Datawyze runs this as one program under AI search visibility, not three disconnected retainers.

AI SEO vs traditional SEO

AI search does not replace SEO; it extends it. Ranking still gates many ChatGPT citations because most cited URLs still come from the search index.

Shared foundations

  • Relevance and topical depth
  • Authority and third-party evidence
  • Technical access for crawlers and bots

Where the work differs

  • Traditional SEO optimizes for positions, clicks, and classic organic sessions.
  • AI SEO / GEO optimizes for citations, share of voice across engines, and AI referral that converts to leads.

If you are weighing whether AI “takes over” SEO, read Is SEO Being Taken Over by AI Search in 2026? For the short answer on this page, see the FAQ: “Does this replace traditional SEO?”

What we measure

If an agency only reports rankings, they are not measuring AI search.

Primary KPIs

  • Citation presence and share of voice on tracked prompts by engine
  • Source mix, owned vs Reddit, YouTube, editorial, and other
  • AI referral sessions through a GA4 custom AI channel
  • AI sessions to key events and leads

Supporting signals

  • Organic cluster clicks from Google Search Console
  • Bot crawl access when Ahrefs Bot Analytics or equivalent is available

Industry AI traffic share can look small while conversion quality is high. That is an industry observation, not a Datawyze forecast. We optimize for attributable leads, not vanity citations.

Timeline: what 30 / 60 / 90 days look like

Early citation movement can appear in weeks; durable share of voice compounds over months.

Days 0-30

  • Baseline prompts locked and first multi-engine log live
  • Technical crawl access reviewed
  • Priority page AEO / BLUF work started
  • Measurement stack live, including GA4 AI channel when access is ready

Days 31-60

  • Cluster expansion and fan-out fills underway
  • Off-page and community insertion started under ethical guidelines
  • First share-of-voice trendlines vs competitors

Days 61-90

  • Iterate winners; pause or rewrite weak pages
  • Deepen vertical prompts for your category
  • Review AI to lead rate next to classic organic

Some brands see early movement in a few weeks. Meaningful visibility compounds over a longer period. We do not guarantee rankings or citations.

Pricing approach

AI SEO and GEO pricing depends on prompt set size, competitive density, content production load, and off-page scope. Datawyze prices custom retainers after a fit call.

What drives cost

  • Number of engines and prompts tracked
  • Pages in the rewrite / AEO pack
  • Vertical complexity and competitor density
  • Community, PR, and third-party scope

Usually included

  • Audit and 90-day roadmap
  • On-page AEO on agreed priority URLs
  • Ethical off-page plan execution within scope
  • Multi-engine tracking and monthly narrative

Often optional add-ons

  • Extra verticals or languages
  • Heavier content production volume
  • White-label reporting for agency partners
  • Extended PR / listicle campaigns

How to compare quotes

  • Measurement plan, citations plus AI referral to leads
  • Named deliverables and owners
  • Exit terms and analytics ownership
  • Named day-to-day leads, following the how to choose an AI SEO agency framework

Request a scoped proposal after a fit call. We do not publish a public rate card on this page.

Toronto and Canada

Datawyze serves AI search and GEO programs from Toronto for Canadian and North American brands.

We work with B2B SaaS, consumer and DTC brands, agencies that want white-label AI visibility reporting, and growth teams that treat AI referral as a channel. Engines are global. Local proof, English-Canada entity signals, and Canadian market context still matter for regional prompts.

Contact: use Get in Touch / Apply Now on this page, or email hello@datawyze.com.

Who we are a fit for (and not)

Best fit brands already invest in SEO or content and need AI citation visibility tied to pipeline.

Good fit

  • B2B SaaS / software teams competing on “best X” prompts
  • Consumer / DTC brands answering “is [brand] worth it?”
  • Agencies that want white-label AI visibility reporting
  • Growth and performance teams treating AI referral as a channel

Not a fit

  • Buyers who want guaranteed #1 ChatGPT mentions
  • Anyone asking for spam threads, bought upvotes, or PBN tactics
  • Brands unwilling to allow analytics ownership or a real baseline
  • Pure one-off blog packages with no tracking

How we differ

Many agencies relabeled SEO as GEO. Datawyze packages AI search as instrumentation plus citation ecosystem work plus on-page AEO.

Proof / results (measured only)

We will only publish measured Datawyze results. Until the Phase 0 baseline is complete, here is exactly what we will report.

Metric Baseline Week 4 Week 8 Week 12
AI traffic sessions TBD TBD TBD TBD
AI to leads (key events) TBD TBD TBD TBD
Citation SoV on core prompts TBD TBD TBD TBD

Cells stay TBD until live GA4 and citation logs exist. No invented client case numbers on this page.

A typical audit finds prompt gaps where competitors already appear in ChatGPT or Perplexity answers, thin BLUF on money pages, and missing AI referral measurement in analytics. The first 30 days close those gaps before heavy off-page work.

Last updated: Q1 2026 · Next refresh: Q2 2026

Coverage

Track citations across every AI engine.

Dominate AI discovery. Datawyze is your performance engine for AI discovery.

ChatGPT

~800M Weekly Users

OpenAI's search integration pulls heavily from Reddit threads and Wikipedia. We track every time your brand is cited in a ChatGPT response.

Perplexity

~100M Monthly Queries

Citation-first AI search. Every answer has visible sources — making Perplexity the fastest feedback loop for AI visibility work.

Google AI

~2B AI Overviews/Mo

Google's AI Overviews now appear on most informational searches. Reddit shapes these answers thanks to Google's $60M licensing deal.

Copilot

~400M Monthly Users

Microsoft Copilot across Bing, Edge, and Windows. Pulls from Reddit, YouTube, and editorial sources for grounded answers.

How AI Citation Building Works

Four steps. No spam. Built to be cited. Just presence where AI is looking.

We've reverse-engineered what makes content get cited by LLMs, and built the agency workflow that gets brands into AI answers in under a week.

Step 1

Audit & Strategy

We audit your existing content, on-page SEO, and current LLM visibility. We identify gaps, the questions your audience is asking that AI is currently answering with your competitors. We build a roadmap across owned content, communities, and platforms. Deliverables: AI visibility baseline on a defined prompt set by engine; content and entity gap list vs competitor citation snapshot; priority page and cluster recommendations; 90-day roadmap with owners and sequencing.

Step 2

On-Page Optimization

We update your website content to speak the language of LLMs. That means clear Q&A-ready headers, BLUF intros, internal linking, entity clarity, and content that answers specific questions. Structured data (including FAQ and HowTo markup) helps clarity and rich results. It is not a proven GEO citation lever by itself. Ahrefs tracked schema additions with little citation movement. We optimize for both search engines and AI extraction without treating JSON-LD as a citation shortcut. Deliverables: BLUF rewrites on priority URLs; entity density and internal linking pass; Q&A-ready headers and extractable sections; technical crawl access checks for major AI bots.

Step 3

Off-Page & Community Insertion

We plant your expertise across the platforms AI trusts most, Reddit and Quora with helpful, natural responses that embed your brand; YouTube with optimized transcripts and keyword-rich descriptions; LinkedIn with thought leadership articles; and Wikipedia with strategic citations where appropriate. Deliverables: prioritized communities and platforms plan; ethical participation guidelines with no bought upvotes, spam threads, or PBNs; transcript and article briefs for owned or partner content; third-party listicle, review, and reference targets where relevant.

Step 4

Track & Report

We query ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini, Copilot, and Google AI daily on your target terms, and log every citation your brand earns. Share-of-voice dashboards show where you appear vs. competitors across each AI engine. Export to client-ready reports. Deliverables: multi-engine query log across ChatGPT, Perplexity, Google AI Overviews, Copilot, and Gemini; source attribution where visible across owned, Reddit, YouTube, editorial, and other sources; share of voice vs named competitors; monthly narrative plus next actions; AI referral to key events and leads once GA4 AI channel instrumentation is live.

Strategic Partnership

Every AI mention. Every source. Every day.

  • Query log across 4 AI engines

    We run your tracked questions against ChatGPT, Perplexity, Google AI, and Copilot every 24h — so you know exactly where you stand.

  • Source attribution

    See which specific Reddit thread, YouTube video, or article an AI cited — so you can focus effort where it compounds.

  • Share-of-voice vs. competitors

    Benchmark your AI visibility against competitor brands. Weekly and monthly trendlines by engine.

Example citation tracking results

Who This Is For

If AI is how your customers find things, you need AI visibility.

B2B SaaS and software

Buyers ask ChatGPT and Perplexity "best X tool" before ever hitting Google. Get cited in the shortlist.

Consumer brands and DTC

"Is [brand] worth it?" is one of the most common AI prompts. Own that answer with authentic community presence.

Agencies and consultancies

Offer AI visibility as a premium service to clients. White-label reports show citation growth month over month.

Local and franchise brands

"Best car wash near me" increasingly routes through AI. Local brands with Reddit presence win the AI answer.

Growth & performance teams

AI-referred traffic has higher intent than Google-referred. Track it as a channel, optimize for it like one.

Founders going to market

Your first 10 customers probably won’t find you on Google. But one well-placed Reddit answer can be cited thousands of times.

Frequently Asked Questions

Questions about AI visibility

Is this just GEO (Generative Engine Optimization)?

GEO is one part of the work. We combine on-page optimization with the off-page authority, community participation, source development, and citation tracking that AI visibility requires.

How do LLMs actually pick which sources to cite?

Three factors: (1) training data — Google pays Reddit ~$60M/yr and OpenAI has separate licensing deals; (2) retrieval-augmented generation — at query time, engines pull from live crawls of Reddit, Wikipedia, and YouTube; (3) trust signals — upvotes, thread age, subreddit authority. We optimize for all three.

Can I just buy upvotes or spam relevant threads?

No. Artificial engagement is risky and not durable. We focus on genuinely useful contributions that build authority over time.

How fast can I actually show up in AI answers?

Some brands see early movement in a few weeks, while meaningful visibility compounds over a longer period. We track progress daily so you can see the trend.

Do you track citations or only Reddit mentions?

We track citations across ChatGPT, Perplexity, Copilot, Google AI Overviews, and the source communities those engines draw from.

Does this replace traditional SEO?

No. AI visibility extends SEO with community authority, source development, and citation tracking across answer engines.

What is an AI search agency?

An AI search agency helps a brand become easier for AI systems to understand, retrieve, and cite. The work combines technical SEO, content structure, source development, community participation, and citation tracking.

GEO vs AEO vs AI SEO: what’s the difference?

AI SEO makes content findable and trustworthy; GEO targets visibility inside generative answers; AEO structures pages for extractable answers. Datawyze runs them as one program.

In-house vs agency: when should we hire?

In-house works if you already have SEO, content, community capacity, and a measurement stack. Hire an agency when you need multi-engine tracking, fan-out coverage, and ethical off-page insertion without building that team first.

Does FAQ schema get us cited in AI answers?

FAQ content helps humans and extractability. Adding FAQ JSON-LD alone has not been shown as a reliable GEO citation lever in Ahrefs research. We use schema for clarity and rich results, not as a citation shortcut.

Do we need llms.txt?

llms.txt is optional for some non-Google AI tooling. Google has stated it does not use llms.txt for Search. Priority remains crawlable HTML, useful content, and third-party evidence.

How does pricing work?

Pricing is a custom retainer after scope. Cost drivers include prompt set size, competitive density, rewrite load, and off-page scope. We do not publish a fake public rate card.

Do you work with Toronto and Canadian brands?

Yes. Datawyze is based in Toronto and runs AI search and GEO programs for Canadian and broader North American brands.

What does a 90-day engagement include?

Baseline prompts and measurement, priority on-page AEO, ethical off-page insertion within scope, and multi-engine citation reporting with monthly next actions. See the Timeline and How Datawyze works sections.

Every AI answer is an ad slot. Start owning yours.

We manage your presence across the entire AI citation ecosystem. You get the visibility. We do the work.

Start Optimizing for AI Search Today